Ozzy Osbourne

Billed by Ozzy himself as the first album he's ever recorded sober, Black Rain kicks off with the promise (or threat, depending on who you are), "Not Going Away." His voice may be more processed than an android posing as Cher at this point, but this is the best batch of songs the guy has written in years. "I Don't Wanna Stop" is almost "Over the Mountain" and "Black Rain" is almost "Electric Funeral." Okay, that's not even close to being true, but the sludgy riffs and lumbering half-tempos are Sabbath-y enough to erase that whole duet-with-Miss-Piggy thing. Well, almost.

"I can't believe I'm still here," Osbourne moans on his ninth solo album. "I should be dead."
We're glad he's still here, but the fact is that the Prince of Darkness is usually only as good
as the guitarist he's paired with. On Black Rain, longtime axman Zakk Wylde repeatedly
breaks out generic metal riffs that were used to significantly better effect on 1991's No
More Tears. The strongest track, "Black Rain," is basically "War Pigs" updated to r... More >